Fast fashion – is it worth it?

Today while drinking my morning smoothie and reading some of my daily blogs, I came across this video regarding fast fashion on Anna’s Blog and it made me think about how fashion and it’s prices has changed in the last few years!

I remember when I was little a lot of the things Mamma Waldherr bought me were from Portugal or at least Europe. Of course I had a lot of clothes brought by Pappa Waldherr from abroad, because he worked abroad, but most of them were always from the country they were bought in. The first time I was actually aware of exporting was when my Mum went to Newcastle for work, I was about 11, and she brought me back a burgundy hoodie, that ended up having “Made in Portugal” on the tag. That was really funny at the time, we joked that she had to go to the UK to get Portuguese clothes. But jokes aside, that hoodie lasted me almost 10 years!!!! Same thing with my first pair of Havaianas, I got them when I was 12 and they lasted until I was 23 or 24 years old!

Things used to last a lot longer than now and I think that’s a really sad thing! I remember getting a black cardigan at H&M when I was 18 for 10€ and wearing it for 6 years before my mother threw it away because it was falling apart and had turned into a dark muddy grey. But the thing is, if I buy a cardigan for the same price (actually 2.95€ more) at the same store, it won’t last me even one complete season before the seams start coming off!

If we try buying clothes made in our own country or the country we live it, they’re extremely expensive and even though I’ll admit the quality is way better, there is just no realistic way for me to afford it at this point in life and I know man young women and men go through the same thing. It took me a while to realize that cheap things end up being expensive and I’ve made a few changes in the way I shop, I think a lot more about things, I prefer to give 50€ out for a bag than 10€ like I used to and gravitate to better quality things. But the truth is, I still go and get things at H&M or Primark not only because they’te affordable, but most of the time because they fit me and finding affordable clothes in plus sized sizes is almost impossible!

Shouldn’t brands start producing in their own countries again? The video says something I already knew, by the 1990’s most american brands where still producing their own things in the USA and now you almost can’t find anything that isn’t made in China, Bangladesh or India. And don’t tell me that we’re giving the people of those countries jobs because that ain’t a job, that’s slavery!!!

I think everyone should watch this video! It is not only enlightening on what really goes on in producing the clothes, but it’s also extremely humorous the way the host talks about it and you can get a good laugh at times even though it’s a serious subject!